


Family doesn't end with blood - It doesn't start there either

by NerineLunaCyran



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Archived From Tumblr, Episode: s10e17 Inside Man, Family Don't End in Blood, Gen, Meta Essay, Nonfiction, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 07:57:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16850170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerineLunaCyran/pseuds/NerineLunaCyran
Summary: Inside Man was packed full with action, with characterization, with plot progression. I watched the episode live while in a chatroom with several meta writers, and we couldn’t make it five minutes without one of us exclaiming something about what we just saw being a great starting point for meta, or a perfect parallel to something that had meta written about it before.One of those great starting points for some meta was Dean’s conversation with Crowley.“A wise man once told me “Family doesn’t end with blood.” It doesn’t start there either. Family cares about you, not what you can do for them. Family’s there. For the good, bad, all of it. They got your back. Even when it hurts. That’s family.”What I want to talk about is this conversation about family and its place in an episode where we saw such an interesting contrast between Bobby with Team Free Will, and Rowena with Crowley.Bobby, the one without a connection through blood, but who the boys look to as a father, and Rowena, Crowley’s actual mother, who Crowley never really saw or acknowledged as his mother.





	Family doesn't end with blood - It doesn't start there either

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr, under the name nerineluna, on April 3, 2015. 
> 
> I don't write a lot of meta, and most of it is more of a conversation with others than it is a standalone essay, but this Inside Man somehow had me itching to write something a little longer. 
> 
> Seeing as this post got liked by Ruth Connell herself - the actress for Rowena MacLeod - I felt the need to preserve it here on AO3 just in case anything ever happens to my blog. 
> 
> (While I'm not particularly worried Tumblr's recent announcement about their change in TOS will mean much for my blog in particular, I guess I got inspired by the sudden rush of others to archive some of their content on AO3.)

If my dash is anything to go by, there’s one thing basically all of us agree on:  _Inside Man_  was one of the best episodes we’ve seen on Supernatural. And for a show in it’s 10th season, that’s saying something.  _Inside Man_  was packed full with action, with characterization, with plot progression. I watched the episode live while in a chatroom with several meta writers, and we couldn’t make it five minutes without one of us exclaiming something about what we just saw being a great starting point for meta, or a perfect parallel to something that had meta written about it before. We all agreed this episode was going to be a goldmine for meta writers everywhere, and were eager to see what great posts would come from this.

One of those great starting points for some meta was Dean’s conversation with Crowley. 

> “A wise man once told me “Family doesn’t end with blood.” It doesn’t start there either. Family cares about you, not what you can do for them. Family’s there. For the good, bad, all of it. They got your back. Even when it hurts. That’s family.” ([x](http://deathsdaleks.tumblr.com/post/115263366417))

While Dean talking with Crowley about family, about  _feelings_ , is a source for meta on its own, that’s not where I’m going here. What I want to talk about is this conversation about family and its place in an episode where we saw such an interesting contrast between Bobby with Team Free Will, and Rowena with Crowley. Bobby, the one without a connection through blood, but who the boys look to as a father, and Rowena, Crowley’s actual mother, who Crowley never really saw or acknowledged as his mother.

Let’s start with Bobby, in Heaven. Out of everyone Sam and Cas could have chosen to be the one to get them into Heaven, they chose Bobby. Not Mary, not John, not anyone else they know. Bobby. Because if there’s one thing Sam knows, it’s that Bobby will always be there for them. No matter what they will spring on him, Bobby will be there for them. Because Bobby is family, whether he’s actually related to them or not. Because “family doesn’t end with blood” .

And Bobby, true to form, barely bats an eye when Sammy comes to him with yet another world-shattering problem. He asks what the situation is, and what they need from him. And then he does it. He knows there’s something they’re not telling him, knows there’s something more going on when Dean doesn’t seem to be involved in any way, but that’s a question for later. He might not completely agree with their viewpoint, but he trusts they know what they’re doing, what they want, and goes along with whatever they want.

Now on the other side, in Hell, we have Rowena. Rowena, who is Crowley’s biological mother, but wasn’t there to raise her son, instead abandoning him at a young age. Who, when she is reunited with her son, refuses to even acknowledge his chosen name. (A sign of not accepting who he has become? Of not accepting Crowley, and instead wanting him to be what she has in mind for her Fergus?) And Crowley knows, same as Sam knows that Bobby will always be there for them, that Rowena is ultimately only there to further her own goals. She’s only there because at the moment, he is useful to her. Or at least he can be. Except Crowley knows exactly what she’s doing.

Where Bobby trusts that his boys know what they’re doing, Rowena feels like she is the one that knows what’s best for her Fergus. She goes behind Crowley’s back, in search of Dean Winchester, to try and get him away from her son. Because she feels that if she could just get Dean and his “positive influence” away from her son, maybe she could still shape him in the kind of man she wished he was. And when that doesn’t work, when her magic doesn’t seem to get a hold on Dean, she changes her plans. She goes to Crowley, appearing bloody and beaten, trying to make Dean out to be the bad guy. And Crowley storms off, in search of Dean.

Which brings us back to the conversation between Dean and Crowley. In a scene they had set up in such a way for us to expect the two of them to get into a fight, instead we get them sharing drinks. We get Dean Winchester talking to the King of Hell about  _family_  and  _feelings_. But then again, those two are long past the point of Hunter vs Demon, are they? Dean has been a demon, been best buddies with Crowley, and Crowley has “gone soft”.

Like Dean said: “You don’t wanted to fight. You wanted to talk.”

Crowley has nobody to turn to among his demons, nobody who has his back. His mother is busy playing her own games, and he knows it. So who does he have left? Dean Winchester, a hunter who is supposed to want him dead, but who instead seems comfortable enough to sit down with him, have a drink, and share feelings. In whatever twisted way, these two seemed to have formed their own bond. Whether that bond is platonic, or romantic, or whatever else, is up for debate. There is no denying, however, that there is  _something_  going on between the two of them.

Then, as if Dean and Crowley just causally talking about family and feelings wasn’t enough, we get to see Crowley telling Rowena that he wants her gone. Crowley, who has clearly listened to what Dean said about family, and has taken it to heart, tells his mother that he’s choosing himself, and that he doesn’t need her.

And then, that ending scene. You all know exactly which one I’m talking about. Bobby’s letter, read by Sam, with the best damn montage we’ve seen on this show in years. ([x](http://dustydreamsanddirtyscars.tumblr.com/post/115329503316/10x17-inside-man-can-i-request-a-round-of)) 

Bobby, being one of the best goddamn parents there are, being there for his boys even when he’s dead, even when he’s in Heaven. Meanwhile, we see Rowena walking away, alone, bags in hand, while the words “but sometimes the bad is real bad” lay over the frame.

And it’s one of the most beautiful ways they could have used to show the contrast between Bobby and Rowena, showing us “family doesn’t end with blood” and “it doesn’t start there either”.


End file.
